


Nympharum

by Girlaremo



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Fae & Fairies, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Heith - Freeform, M/M, Major character death - Freeform, SaveMatt2017, Shatt, They/Them Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Voltron Fae AU, Voltron au, alluridge, tw death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-11
Updated: 2018-01-21
Packaged: 2018-12-26 15:36:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12061947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Girlaremo/pseuds/Girlaremo
Summary: After getting engaged to the absolute center of his universe, Takashi Shirogane and Matthew Holt move back to Matt's hometown in the Pacific Northwest.  Mount Marche happens to be a sleepy little town with a few comforts from the bigger cities, but all together, it's oddly quiet and welcoming to those who don't look too far past the glamour set in front of them.When Doctor Samuel Holt and Matt go into the woods after an anomaly nearly shakes out the town's power, things start to slowly go from bad to worse when Matt and Samuel go missing in action.   It all comes to a head when Takashi finds an intruder in his home, claiming that the Holts aren't too far gone yet.





	1. Chapter 1

'You know, it won't kill you to have a new start at things.' The way Matt had said it was oddly condescending, but at the same time, he knew he was right. They had spent years in the big city going to college, and now, they were moving.

Everything they owned had been packed up into a Uhaul, and they were going across the country. From the desert citylife, to the Northwest. 'We'll move back to my hometown. It'll be fun, and you'd like my friends. They're fuckin' nerds like you.' Matt had said, all in terms of endearment. But now, all huddled up with the heat on in the cab of the truck, Takashi was starting to regret the move. He was used to dry heat and blistering temperatures. The thermometer on the dashboard was holding at a steady fifty degrees and the rain was far from stopping.

Takashi was sure his skull was going to rattle out of his head. “This is...awful.” He told Matt, who was comfortably huddled up on his side of the vehicle, reading something on his phone. “You didn't tell me we were moving to that town from that awful book with the disco vampires.”

“Hey, relax...it doesn't rain all the time. They're just finishing up monsoon season... Things come up off the ocean, and it brings rain and all that. It's better when you're not driving in it.” He hummed, closing his phone up as he stuck it back into his pocket and scooted over closer to the other. “But, I assure you, when we get that bed all put together and the little rental house is all unpacked, I will _personally_ show you how grateful I am for you to be moving back to my hometown.”

“You're not going to start shimmering like disco dust, are you? Because that shit gets everywhere.” Matt only snorted at that, driving Takashi to laugh a bit harder.

“You're such an ass—This town is so hipster, it hurts. Like... It's only got a population of thirty thousand last time I checked, there's a mall, downtown shops, a whole school with classes of a hundred people...”

“And Mothman was the janitor, ha ha. How did you all even manage to get out this far from society? Isn't your dad a retired...something or rather?” The Holts were a bunch of oddballs, right down to the start of the family tree. Matt said his great grandma was a witch, and she did 'good magic' on all the children, all the grandchildren, and so on. Oddly enough, Matt had remarkably good luck, and in comparison, Takashi was a bit unlucky at times.

“He studies anomalies in the area. It's funded by the college, so it pays decently. Mount Marche has been home to plenty of weird things. They've got a reputation for having the most twins born, there's a few places that are registered as 'haunted', the Oma Lake is crystal clear, and you can see right to the bottom...Plus, for being a far off suburb, the air is pretty damn clear. You can smell the molecules bonding.” Matt teased, grinning as he leaned back into his spot. “My mom's just the evening charge nurse at the hospital, though. The fact that she hired on the spot is pretty lucky, don't you think?”

“I think my five years of ER experience and my degree in nursing and healthcare helped, but yeah, lucky lucky lucky.” He mocked lightly, squinting at one of the wide billboard signs on the side of the road. “We're fifteen minutes out...Are you sure this is the only highway to town?”

“Well, yeah. The interstate passes right past here. They haven't bothered to really do any new clover turns since we're pretty self sufficient.” Matt shrugged, picking up his phone again. “Cell service is a bit spotty, but once we switch over to the local stuff, it'll be better.” 

“Oh, fantastic...” Takashi sighed, looking at the phone in his lap. No service. Rolling his eyes a bit, he shook his head and went back to looking at the grey horizon in front of him, and the black pavement of the road. “...What even prompted you to offer up the idea of moving?”

“Well, since Katie—er, Pidge, wants to go out of state for college, he kind of needs the extra hand. She's going to Iowa for whatever reason, and it's beyond me why she does.” Matt shrugged. “Seriously, it's just a bunch of 'meh' people in a 'meh' area. No ocean, no mountains...”

“No annoying brothers to tell them where to go for school.” Shiro offered, arching an eyebrow at his partner. “Eh, just let them live. Life's too short to worry about what your sibling's doing with their life. And the idea of you being your father's little monkey helper is entertaining enough for me.”

“I'm not going to be his monkey, dammit. Just... Assistant. I'm his assistant for the time being, and if all else goes well, I can finish my degree at the college while gaining experience.” He hummed triumphantly. “And I hear there's a decent set of classes if you want to become a doctor after all.”

“I'll stick to being a nurse. I can still go anywhere if I'm a nurse. Everyone likes nurses better anyways.” He shrugged. It was true, though. One could have a doctorate and be able to work in a hospital, but it was all a matter of finding a hospital that needed a doctor. If nobody needed a certain doctor, he couldn't practice, if one couldn't practice, there was no money, and so on. Nurses came and went, and usually, they didn't have to bring too much of the bad news.

“I dunno, I was kind of hoping that I could snag a doctor to practice on me. You know, just a bit of an exam, a couple of pokes...” Matt cooed, looking at the other through his eyelashes, some of the allure dissipating as Takashi more so kept his eyes on the road. “...You're not even thinking about what I'm thinking of, are you?”

“Hm? Oh, no. I'm not. I was thinking about your scrawny little veins.” Sure, there was a bit of morbidity when he thought about things, but if he had information that he used more often than not, of course he was going to think about tiny veins and the like. “Honestly, I'm surprised you don't run dry when you give blood...”

“Well, even if I lack mass and height, I hold the regular amount...I'm not that small, anyways.” Matt huffed in remark, pulling out his phone to play a long forgotten game tucked away among the apps. “If anyone's out of the ordinary here, it's you, mister 'taller than average'. Your mom's like...five foot three and your dad's like...Five six. How did you manage to get to be six foot?”   
  
“Well, my uncle on my dad's side is six foot. His father was six foot three.” Takashi shrugged, glancing at Matt. “Come on, it's genetics. Just because my dad's a bit shorter doesn't mean I would be.”

“This is why I'm not into medical science. I'm into science science.”

“I didn't know there was a science science. Tell me more about this poorly named since genus, genius.”

The rain eventually died down a bit, and the little city limit sign with a faded 'Mount Marche' came into view. “Welcome to the middle of nowhere.” Matt hummed, smiling widely at the other, as if the Cheshire grin was going to take over his face. 'How creepy of you' had been uttered between Takashi and Matt, only aiding in making the smaller man chortle.

The town itself, upon closer examination, was just as Matt had said. Small. Passing by the mall on their way in, it seemed moderately busy, but with a few shops that looked like they were running on shortened hours and only part timers so they could remain so.

The bayfront itself was busy, and there was something going on at the docks—probably some sort of haul of fish that had come in with the morning catch. Nothing too out of the ordinary, even for a rainy day. The leaves had already turned a bright yellow orange in preparation for autumn, and already people were advertising cider (hard and soft, it seemed.) and pumpkin spice everything. While it was still gloomy outside, it still seemed like it had some sort of little glow to it that made the town seem warm and welcoming.

“Alright, so where's that place your dad's renting out again?” Driving in a new town itself was actually quite terrifying. All the times that Matt had gone back home for holidays and such, (Takashi picked up shifts for the holidays as a sort of martyr act.) he had actually flown out to a bigger city and his parents picked him up, and sent all the gifts they had gotten for Takashi through the mail. So, he'd get them either on Christmas, or in the middle of February. There was no in between.

“It's on Grove Street. Like...once you see Yellow Boulevard, turn right onto it.” Matt instructed, pulling out the paper with the address scrawled on it. “It's a cute little place. The pictures I sent you doesn't do it justice, really.”

“Sounds nice. And it used to be a little church, hunh?” From what he had seen, the wood floors were from the original building, and with it being that odd rounded triangle shape, it had an interesting layout. Bathroom was next to the laundry room, the main room for dining and the like was with the kitchen, and there was a staircase built into the curve of the wall with a banister running up to a sort of second story loft. Decorative support beams had been put in downstairs, none of which that would really inhibit anything. “Hopefully we don't burst into flames upon entering.”

“Psh, I've seen it once. We'll both be fine.” Matt chortled, pointing out directions as they came, until the Uhaul truck finally came to a stop. It was cute. The upper area had a little stained glass window that would look gorgeous in the mornings. “What do you think?”

Looking over the little space, Takashi thought it was downright perfect. The little grey and white exterior was cute, the molding had been redone, and it looked downright cozy. The only thing that was a bit of of place was the yellowing Ginkgo tree in the front yard. “What's with the tree?”

“Oh, dad's into symbolism as of late. Plus, he had a sapling starter from the tree in our yard.” Matt explained, opening up the truck door with a sigh. “It holds symbolism of longevity, peace, hope and strength. It's right on the edge of our property anyways. It shows them where the point of gay starts.”

To that, a snort passed Takashi's lips. Sexuality jokes never got old. Well, at least for him. Sometimes they tiddled on the edge, but with how tired he had been as of late, it seemed great. “You wanna call your parents and see if they're around?”

“Nah, dad said he'd be out this weekend, and mom's working. If anything, I could call Ka—Pidge. Pidge, I could call Pidge and their friends.” Matt sputtered for a moment, rolling his eyes. “I love that kid, I promise.”

“I know you do, and name changes are pretty hard. Especially when they're close to you like Pidge.” Takashi hummed, opening up the back of the van to reveal their items. Sure, they didn't have much, but it was inconvenient enough that their things had moved during transit. “Why don't you get up in there, and I'll go ahead and start taking any boxes you give me, alright?”

Matt was already getting up into the back of the vehicle and scooting boxes out to the edge, texting while he worked. “Right, right... just lemme text the gremlins and then it'll be a bit easier for us.”

Even so, it wasn't until about fifteen minutes later that the three of them showed up. A baby blue banged up convertible shuddered behind the moving truck, an odd trio pouring out. “Well, look who it is. Thought you could escape the Marcheville, hunh?” Lance chortled, flipping up his sunglasses to grin at Matt. Hunk was in the front seat, putting his hair back with one of those (painful looking) hair combs before pulling himself out of the vehicle. Compared to Lance, Hunk looked like he was more of a lumberjack sort of build compared to Lance's lanky build. Then there was Pidge, who was somewhere between 'I look like a lesbian' and 'industrial punk'.

“Hey, good to see you again, though--” Matt hummed, holding out his arms to hug Lance, while Hunk wandered over. “You've gotten taller, that's for sure.”

“His mom griped at him for not eating well enough while he's doing his college run.” Hunk rolled his eyes and nudged Lance, who nearly toppled over after the light embrace.

“So you've been feeding him?” Matt arched an eyebrow, snorting a bit. Glancing back to Takashi, he was standing a bit awkwardly, his arms crossed over his chest. “Oh, by the way, this is my wonderful, other half-”

“Your _better_ half.” Takashi couldn't help but to laugh at the face Matt pulled, waving around his left hand a bit, finally gesturing to the pale gold band. “And...Soon to be Holt-Shirogane.”

“I dunno, I still think you should go with Takashi Holt.” Looking back at the two, Pidge was pretty well aware of all of this, but Lance's jaw had dropped and Hunk looked like he was going to tip over. “...What? Did Pidge not tell you?”

Lance and Hunk almost comically looked back at Pidge, who was still sitting on the back of the convertible seats. “What? I didn't think you'd be interested. It's just my brother.”

“ _Thanks._ ”

“So when's the big day? Are you having a really big wedding?!” Lance jumped up and down, while Hunk ran his hands through his hair. “I could totally help you plan it! The colors and everything! I've helped my older sisters with plenty of these things!”

“Ooohh, I could get my culinary class to cater if there's going to be a big gathering. Oooh, I can see it. Strawberry tartlettes with lemon curd and persimmon pudding...Well, if it's in season, but oh man--”

The whole idea train came to a screeching halt when Takashi coughed into his hand, both he and Matt looking rather... uneasy. “We were actually thinking about just going to the courthouse and having a little vacation afterwards. You know, just the good ol' fashioned elopement...” Matt chuckled lightly, watching as their faces slowly fell. “...You can at least plan a little Friday Night party if you're really that torn up about it.”

“I'll take it.” Lance chirped, his face turning back up into a smile as he cracked his knuckles and looked to the van. “Alright, then. Boxes are marked to where they go, right?”  
  
“Yep, and be careful with the ones marked 'Bedroom'. I've got important things in there that I don't want broken.” Takashi instructed, taking up his part as the 'leader' of the group. Being the way he was and how he worked, it shaped him into a dashing young man with a sense of leadership in everything he did. While Takashi helped the two unload the moving boxes, Matt wandered over to Pidge and leaned on the car.

“You told mom and dad yet that you're gonna elope? They know you're engaged after all, but they're kinda expecting something nice.” Pidge was still clattering away on her phone, the pads of her thumbs making a dull noise.

“I know, but Taka kind of went overboard with the rings, and that's...That's actually part of the reason we moved back here.” Matt sighed, looking up to the sky. “But, they're cute.” Taking off the gold band, Matt handed it to Pidge, whom took it in their skinny fingers. “He has half a heart on his, and I've got the other half on mine.”

Pidge seemed to gag at the idea, looking back at Matt as they handed back the ring. “It fits you, though. You're two halves of the same dorkishly weird whole.” Pidge shrugged. “'Oh yeah, my fiance is a nurse and I hunt cryptids with my dad, hur hur.'”

“Look, you thought you wanted to do the same thing dad does when _you_ were little.” Both of them wanted to be little scientists when they grew up. Of course they did. Everyone wanted to do what Professor Holt did. Matt was unofficially living the dream at this point.   
  
“Eh...I guess you're right.” Pidge finally broke, shrugging and hopping out of the convertible, slowly wandering to the moving truck. “Still, even with that in mind, I still think I want to go out of state. You know, get some experience, nobody knows me out in the middle of nowhere...”

“Your brother will miss you...” Matt trailed off, his eyes wandering up to the heavens before Pidge nudged him. “What? I mean, no, not ever. Your brother's a rock with no emotion, of course he wouldn't miss tiny Pigeon.” It was that moment of silence where Pidge stared at Matt and Matt looked away that he realized that they saw right through them. “...I'm worried about my baby sibling.”

“I know you are, and mom and dad are, too. I've got one more summer here, then it's senior year for me.” Pidge sighed, nudging Matt a bit more to get him to look down more. “But, I've really got to get out of this weird little town. It's rubbing off on me, and if I stay too long, I might grow another nipple, like you.” The moment Matt's face caved and he started hollering about the ill placed vestigial nipple, the serious conversation was over.

“So are you going to help with the boxes or nah?” Lance crooned from the house, leaning out one of the windows to wave Pidge in. “Come on! 'Kashi's offered to take us all bowling afterwards!”

“I did _not_!” Takashi bellowed, making Lance draw himself back in through the window as he cackled loudly.

With all the boxes and the bed frame unloaded, and everyone pitching in to help put everything where it should be, the little renovated house was starting to already feel like home. With the beautiful pine flooring below them and the loft style bed above, it was a cozy enough space that Matt and Takashi would happily live out their time in Mount Marche.

With most everything in the bedroom being put into place, Takashi was actually taking his time with something rather dear to his heart. Just a little shrine was all. A few sticks of incense in the little drawers under the top part, and a couple pictures of those he wanted to honor. One photo was of his parents, who had passed one after the other. His mother had cancer from years of smoking, and his father was too struck with sadness to go on without her.

Soon after, his brother had gone out to study abroad, and ended up in Romania with a group of hikers. It was supposed to be one of those fun hikes, but something went wrong, and he and his friends were lost to the woods. They had gone into a part of the forest they shouldn't have gone, and the officials declared him dead. 'Missing' wasn't even on the table for that long.

“I don't have fresh flowers yet, but this'll have to do.” Takashi murmured, putting a couple oranges on the little altar, lighting up the little tea light candle and the incense stick. Matt watched from the side, stopping in the middle of hanging their clothes. Matt only smiled fondly as he watched the other pay his respects and got up from his cushion in front of the shrine. No wonder Matt's parents liked Takashi so much. He was so sincere and honest...and he respected his elders...

“You know, they're probably grateful for just you remembering them. Knowing that they had you in their lives, that's pretty fulfilling.” Matt said quietly, smiling lightly. They could hear Pidge, Hunk and Lance downstairs, trying to move in the futon couch and hook up the television. But for now, they had their own little moment.

Wandering closer to Matt, Takashi hummed and took his hands, moving them to where they were in slow dance position, his hand resting on Matt's waist. “I do my best.” He replied, gently swaying.

“You know there's not any music playing, right?” Matt noted, arching his eyebrow a bit. “I'll fix that.” Tilting his head back, he called for his phone, which pinged in response. “Play 'Our Playlist'.” Chirping back in response, the phone on the speaker deck quietly came to life. 'Fly me to the Moon' came on, the smooth sound of Frank Sinatra filled the air. “Would you like to lead, future Mister Holt?”

“It'd be my honor, future Mister Shirogane.” The fact that they were dancing to the song that actually started their relationship was just... It warmed the heart. Takashi had been working the campus nurse's station with one degree down and working on the other when Matt came in for a checkup after vomiting one morning. (First campus party.) Singing at the top of his lungs, Takashi was startled when Matt had started clapping after his 'performance'. He started making regular visits down to the nurse's station, and it ended up in them getting to know each other quite well. Well enough to the point where they woke up in each other's apartments, had many dates, and eventually got to the point where Takashi proposed on the college campus where they met.

Moving in with each other had happened along the way, and they both got even more comfortable with each other. They dealt with each other's sorrows, their pains...Everything under the sun, they both got through it.

Resting his forehead against Matt's, Takashi had been humming along, closing his eyes. “ _Fill my life with song, let me sing forever more...You are all I long for, all I worship and adore..._ ” Matt only smiled and closed his eyes as they swayed along, socks moving silently across the dark wood floor. _“In other words, please be true...In other words...I love you.”_

Neither had noticed the silence that was from below, or the fact that three pairs of eyes had been watching them from the stairs.   
  
“They're really head over heels for each other, aren't they...?” Lance's face had gone soft with a smile, having a bit of a soft spot in his own heart for romances and sweet things. Hunk gazed at them with his own lopsided smile, while Pidge...Pidge was happy that their brother had found someone. Someone who loved him regardless of how outlandish and quirky he could be.

“Yeah...” Pidge sighed, nudging Hunk a bit. “C'mon. Let's finish for them and make a run for pizza. I already put in an order for when we're finished here.”   
  
“We could always bring it back and share with them, you know. I know Matt likes pineapple on pizza. You said something about him liking such an abomination, it was unreal that he was your brother.” Hunk snorted, pulling himself back down the stairs past Pidge and Lance, the other two following. Hunk had a good habit of remembering things. Sure, he tested out with a good memory and recalling, but sometimes, he was a bit klutzy.

Lance on the other hand, was a bit of an airhead, but he ran parkour sometimes through town with a couple other of his friends. He kept thin and lithe, even if he did eat junk all day. Hunk once watched him eat an entire box of Twinkies and followed them with Takis. He didn't even have any stomach issue when the next day rolled around.

Pidge was the middle ground between them. Not too picky about food, save for green peppers and sweet potatoes, and they could easily run a mile if given proper time to stretch. Yet, when they were little, gymnastics was also something their parents enrolled them in, leaving them with the knowledge of how to do a backflip and keep going, and going, and going...

“You know, it's kinda weird your cryptid hunting brother caught a guy that _fine._ ” Lance picked up another knick knack out of one of the living room boxes, putting the little plastic figurine with one of the others so that it was pointing its sword at another figurine's butt. Ha.

“How do you mean? Matt's capable of being flirty when he's not talking about String Theory or overlapping planes of existence.” Pidge shrugged, moving the figurine so that it wasn't pointing at the other's butt. “Don't skewer Peach with Link. That's rude. She's a _princess._ ”

Hunk was unboxing more oddities, arching an eyebrow at a scorpion in resin. “I dunno, they kinda got that 'Old Soul' thing going on. You said Takashi really likes swing music, right?” Taking out another oddity, it was evident that they had dipped into Matt's things. “...Please tell me that this box isn't just resin bugs...”

“It's resin bugs.” Pidge shook their head and tugged the box over to their spot, looking over the items. “Seriously, what's with you and bugs?”

“I'm really not a fan of the crawly things. It just...Past life, maybe? Early childhood trauma?” Hunk shuddered as he turned away, trying to focus on something else. “I just can't stand them. Not even the dead ones.”

“Meanwhile, I handled orb weavers at the petting zoo last week.” Lance hummed, bobbing his head like it was a big deal. “They're so beautiful and gentle...”

“ _And they almost made me have a panic attack just watching you._ ” Hunk added, plopping himself down on the couch, tilting his head back. “Augh, when's the pizza supposed to be done? My stomach's starting to eat itself, and the nervous talk about bugs isn't helping me at all.”

“I'd threaten you with Crickettes on the pizza, but I'm not that bad of a friend.” Lance cooed, getting a bit of an evil look from down Hunk's nose. “What? I said I wasn't that bad of a friend.”

“If you're really hungry, we probably should get going... There's probably some pizza we can grab from a different place on the way home. Honestly, if my timing's right, they're probably waiting to consummate the place.” Pidge made a terrible gagging noise, gesturing up the stairs.

The two older boys looked at each other with sick faces, finally wandering out of the little rental house. “Jesus, I never want to think about that again.”

“It's not the first time something like that happened. I once actually tried to call Matt one day and he answered the phone while 'Kashi was doing something else.” Sure, they were exaggerating, but Takashi had gotten rather lovey at the time, and he wanted Matt's attention, so, he sat with his head on Matt's lap, and things eventually got out of control.

Once outside, Hunk closed up the moving van, and the others hopped in Lance's car, starting it up and put it into gear. “Alrighty...Fifteen minutes would be enough time for them, right?” Looking in the rearview mirror, Pidge made another gagging noise, this one more vulgar than the last, while Hunk rolled his eyes and covered his mouth. “What? I'm being serious.”

 

.. .. .. ..

 

“Twelve minutes...” Laying breathless in bed with the smell of sex lingering in the air, Matt laid on his side with Takashi spooning behind him, pressing kisses into the back of his neck. “Even with a bit of a stretch, that was great...”

“It's amazing how a bed makes things that much better.” Takashi hummed, moving forward with his little kisses, scooting closer in bed. “Plus, we've been in that van for days...” The way his voice got after sleeping or 'bed activities' was always pleasing to Matt's ears. How he got all low and his chest caught the sound of his voice... Some of the neck kisses made Matt squirm, squeezing his eyes shut in an attempt to stave off the little sensations...all up until Takashi blew a raspberry to his cheek.

“Oi!” Being ludicrously ticklish, Matt squirmed and rolled around to face the other, grabbing Takashi's face, trying to inhibit him from doing anything else. “Don't you think we should try and get dressed, though? If they said they were bringing back pizza, I'm pretty sure they don't wanna see naked Takashi.”

Sighing lightly, Takashi himself was actually one to more so enjoy pillow talk and cuddling after, but Matt, oddly enough, was a bit more logial when it came to things. Some cuddling and pillow talk, then back to business. “You have a point....” He mumbled in response, resting his forehead against Matt's shoulder with a light groan. “You know I'd rather stay in bed, though.”

“I know, I know...big baby.” Matt teased, pulling himself away to grab his bathrobe and a can of Fabreeze. “We haven't unpacked the bathroom yet so there's wet wipes in the box by the dresser. Doesn't constitute for a shower, but that's what I'm going to be doing.” Matt called, starting his way downstairs. Peeking over the loft floor, he arched an eyebrow at Takashi, still laying in bed, looking at him with those big puppy eyes. “Don't you dare give me that face. You're _not_ getting in the shower with me.”

“Killjoy.”

Wandering down the stairs, Matt was greeted by the trio of youngsters, with a few pizza boxes in arms. Pidge knew exactly what happened, and Hunk and Lance were just catching up on the intel. “See, I told you.”

“What? We had a moment to ourselves.” Matt shrugged, watching as the two older guys looked at each other in disgust.

“It's sad I know you like this. I revoke our siblingship.” Pidge took one of the boxes and opened it up on the kitchen table, pulling out a heavily cheesed slice. “Lance, are you gonna close your mouth?”

“Well, while you guys gorge on what's on the table, I'm gonna bathe.” Matt said matter-of-factly, grabbing a couple things from the 'bathroom' box before heading in. Takashi came downstairs soon after, looking as happy as a spring hen.

“Did you get anything good?”

“Supreme, half macaroni and cheese, half hamburger with pickles on the side, and one plain cheese.”

Pidge said seamlessly, opening up another box to dig out one of the macaroni and cheese slices for themselves.

“You know, I'm starting to think I never want to be a fly on the wall when it's just you guys here.” Lance finally said. Hunk had long recovered from the shock of Pidge actually predicting what would happen.

“Eh, I don't blame you.” Hunk shrugged off the whole thing, bee-lining for the supreme slices, weaving around as the others picked up theirs. “...Don't you think it's kinda sacrilegious if you guys-”

“Please don't finish that thought.” Lance frowned widely from across the table, letting some of the pizza grease fall onto a couple of lone napkins he swiped from the kitchen.

“I dunno, that seems like a good morning topic to stumble across...” Takashi mused, rolling his eyes a bit. “It's probably not the first time someone's done it in a church.

“ _Gross._ ”

Matt's phone started going off upstairs, the ringer loud and obnoxious. It was probably his father calling anyways. “Could someone get that?” Matt called. How he could hear that, nobody knew, but Takashi gave the obligatory 'Yeah', wandering back upstairs to get it from the dresser. As he thought, it was 'Dad'.

“Matt's phone, Takashi speaking.” The phone was silent for a moment before a gritty voice came in on the other end, blotted out by the bad service.

“ _Hey, kid! I was just calling to see if you were all moved in yet. Matt said something about you guys arriving today.”_

“Yeah, we made it in one piece... Can't say the same for some of the dishes, though. Nothing a couple dollar store replacements won't fix.” It was cheap tableware anyways, and they'd probably get something a bit more fancy from the Holts after they tied the knot.

“ _Yeah, can't really help that, can you?”_ Sam sighed, the static over the phone making him sound a bit more tired than he already was. _“Anyways, I was also calling to tell Matt that I was going to be getting back later tonight. Might be weird because of time zones, but it's all worth it when I'm playing Indiana Jones for a living.”_

“Oh yeah? Well, I'll tell Matt, Doctor Holt.” Takashi mused, looking out the little stained glass window in their room. It was raining again. Either way, it was a good sign. “I think my only problem with this place is that it's cold.”

“ _Living in warm places all your life really takes a toll on you, doesn't it? Well, at least you got the ocean you grew up next to, right? Just...different beach, same ocean.”_ Sam had a point. _“I'm gonna let you go so you can get back to moving, Takashi. Just remember to tell Matt for me, alright? He'll know what that means.”_

“Alrighty, will do. Thanks, Sam.” Hanging up the call, hearing the others downstairs as Matt finally got out of the shower. Things were already looking good, even if he didn't really have too much to go on. Mount Marche seemed to be a promising little place, and they were set to grow old in this place. Sighing lightly, Takashi smiled to himself. “...This is perfect.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

 The next few days were full of unpacking the last few pieces, putting things away correctly, and laying in bed, waiting for Takashi's new job to start.  The weekend was short, but it was just enough to let Matt and Takashi relax and let things settle into place properly.  Late mornings were perfect for this, with Takashi curled into Matt's chest, and the smaller of the two traced circles into the middle of his other half's back.  "We should probably get up at some point..."   Matt said quietly, yet his eyes were still closed.  "We haven't done laundry for a couple days, and it's piling up in the hamper."  

"Mmhm..."   Takashi himself wasn't ready to get up, the half asleep feeling still held him down on the bed with a fragile grip on his body.  He could get up at any time, but it felt too nice to melt into the sheets.  

"I'm serious, though."   Matt chided, moving his hand from his back to run a hand through the other's dark hair.  "And both of us haven't showered yet..."   He added in a nearly sing-song voice, continuing on with the gentle touches, getting another groan from Takashi.  Soft moments like this were what made Matt's heart swell more in his chest.  Almost like the first morning Matt had decided to share a bed with Takashi, and how both of them woke up with Matt sandwiched between the wall and Takashi.  

For now, though, he focused on essentially massaging Takashi's scalp, neck and everywhere between, hoping to get him to at least look at him.  "'Kashi..."   Matt drew out, huffing a bit when he only gave another groan in response, a bit of a smile tugging at his mouth.  "I know you're awake.  Come on, you turd."  

"As much as I love looking at you, I can't get myself to open my eyes."  Quivering as he absently stretched, he relaxed a bit further and finally opened one eye, looking up at Matt with a heavy sigh.  "This good?"  

"I'll take what I can get."   Going back to the little massage routine, Takashi's resolve to keep his eye open slowly vanished, relaxing back into that soft touch.  "You have anything planned today...?"

"Laundry, shower..."  Wracking his mind for anything else, he pulled up his arm from the blankets, looking at a small spot, circled by black ink.  "I've got to get this checked on..."   He hummed, sighing as he opened his eyes to look at the little mark.  "TB tests are fun."

"Eugh, isn't  that were they stick a needle under the skin and make a little bubble or something?"  Matt grimaced, looking at the other's arm like it were some sort of strange growth.  

"Yep."  Plopping his arm back down on the bed, he looked to Matt's still cringing expression, arching an eyebrow at the other.  "I'm suddenly reminded as to why you aren't in the medical field."  

"Because I can't stand the medical stuff."  Matt huffed.  "I faint at the sight of blood, anything in the body needs to stay in the body, and for god's sake, watching someone get a vaccine is the worst thing I have ever witnessed."  This only got Takashi to grin a bit, making the other scowl.  "What's that look for?" 

"I suppose you wouldn't want a little exam, then, hunh?"  

Oh, Matt had heard that before.  The phrase came with a hand snaking under the blankets and up under Matt's shirt.  "You're trying to practice, aren't you?  And what, should I expect some light palpations and the like?"  He couldn't help but to smirk at the other as Takashi's facade broke, and he ended up grinning like the smug brat he was.  

"You know me too well... Plus, I've got to think of something else.  I don't want to Pavlov you into getting a boner every time you go to the doctor."  He teased, leaning up to peck his jaw, continuing on with the little kisses up and down Matt's neck.  He didn't seem to mind, his auburn hair splayed out a bit more as he tilted his head a bit more, allowing Takashi to go where he pleased.  

"That'd be awful, and you'd be the one to blame there."  Arching into the touch of his partner's hand as it slowly meandered  a bit more south, there was a bit of a mewl as the other palmed Matt's crotch unapologetically.  He couldn't believe how Takashi could make him melt so easily, turning him into a hot mess, rolling his hips with eyes closed and lips parted.  Things were just getting warm when Matt's phone rang.  Not just any call was coming through, but it was his father.  If he was calling, it was probably important.  

Jolted from his splendor, Matt reached over and picked up the phone, also absently moving Takashi's hand from his groin.  "Matt's phone, this is him speaking."  

_"Hey, I was just wanting to know if you were doing anything important today."_  Sam sounded like he was doing something on the other end of the phone, making Matt curious as to what was going on.  

"Other than you fiancé?"   Takashi continued on with the quiet neck kisses, keeping his hand above the elastic of Matt's shorts.  That was the agreement they had, after all.   Matt didn't sound very professional when Takashi was doing things while Matt was talking.  They learned that the hard way.

"Shush, you."   Matt muttered patting the other's head as he continued on with the call.  "I don't have anything going on for the time being.  Something going on with work today?"   

_"Well, that's the thing.  I was going data tracking and some of the readings were higher than normal.  Plus, there's a few probes around the woods that are damaged, so I need a hand in fixing them up."_   He explained, clacking on an old keyboard for a couple of moments before his voice picked up again.   _"From what I've seen, it just looks like some deer got into them is all.  Not surprised.  It's about that time of year when they start going after tree bark.  I've gotta get those mounted on their own stakes, I tell ya."_

"I can help fix the trail cams and sensors.  Wouldn't be too much of a problem."   Matt hummed, squirming a bit as Takashi caught a bit of sensitive skin with his mouth.  "I've just got to shower and throw in a load of laundry, and I'll catch a lift to the office."   Matt nearly yelped when Takashi squeezed his side, urging him to slide out of bed and onto the floor, quickly scrambling to get up.  

_"What was that?"_

"Ah, just slipped out of bed, dad.  'Kashi says hi, by the way."   From the bed, Takashi pouted, hiding half of his face in the blankets, urging him to come back with soft eyes and quiet mewling.  Luckily for Matt, he had willpower and it didn't take him long to cool off.  

_"Mom keeps on saying how she's excited to have him on the floor tomorrow."_  It was true, though.  Colleen had been looking for qualified nurses to work in the hospital, and with Takashi's experience and all, she was quite happy with the other and willing to pay him for his experience. _"Then again, I'm pretty sure there's not going to be much when it comes to ER stuff.  Mostly broken bones and mild emergencies."_   Sam chuckled.  

"Eh, you have a point."  Slowly meandering to the dresser, he started pulling out clothes, underwear, the usual things.  Until it came to jeans, then he fumbled through the pile for denim.  Wearing a pair for a couple days wasn't so bad, right?  "But, I'm sure he'll love it, right 'Kashi?"

"I'd like it if you came back to bed so I could love you a bit more."  Takashi continued on pouting, watching the other like a sleepy cat would.  He knew better.  When work called, Matt was obligated to answer.  Just like when Takashi got emergency calls, he needed to do the same.  They were both responsible adults, after all.   "Just means I get to love you more when you come home."   

_"Yeah, I'm not sorry for stealing you away from home."_  Matt only snorted at Sam's statement, flinging the jeans over his shoulder, holding the other clothing items by hand. _"It's our job to monitor things around here, and plus, I've got some papers for you to grade afterwards."_  

"If you're gonna make me grade papers, at least let me write out insults.  I'll even write it in runes or something so they won't understand it."   Matt huffed, finally wandering down the stairs.  He knew at this point, Takashi would probably fall back asleep and ignore the fact that he didn't get to spend time with Matt.  Then again, they had the whole rest of their lives to get to that, right?  

_"Some students don't take lightly to you calling them 'wet socks'.  I might as well add in that I really don't understand you and your sibling's form of insults."_   Looks like Sam was doing well with Pidge's name change.  Matt needed to make a point to cement that into his brains.  

"It's a young people thing.  I've heard someone call their buddy an indescribably ignorant walnut before."    Matt shrugged and meandered into the bathroom, poking around his face for a couple moments before turning on the shower water.  "I'm gonna hop in the shower, though.  I'll see you when I get to the office, alright?"   

_"Meet you there, then."_

The phone cut off soon after that, leaving Matt to look in the rapidly fogging mirror.  At least the hot water heater was good at its job.  There were a couple of spots on Matt's face that he noticed, not really caring too much to poke and prod at them.  Puberty was really something that stuck with him, and even though the rest of his skin calmed down, there were still a couple breakouts that plagued his complexion.  

Shower routine kicked in not long after, stripping down to skin, throwing his clothes in the hamper in the bathroom, hopping in, closing the door, shampoo, rinse, conditioner on the ends of his hair, body wash, lather up some face soap, shave the face and neck (even if he didn't need to) rinse, and then the absolutely necessary run to the closet for the towel he forgot to pull out when he first got in.  

It left the bath mats a bit damp in the end, but it wouldn't take long for him to dry off and get dressed.  He was honestly grateful that his parents taught him how to take care of himself.  Takashi would have had to teach him how to do everything if it weren't for them.  Between Takashi and Matt, though... Matt was better at cooking.  Takashi burnt things because he got distracted at the wrong time with other things he had been doing around the house.  

Dry the hair, put on deodorant, brush out, grab a hair elastic for later, (At that point, he ran his fingers through his hair and wondered if he needed a haircut.) dress, step out of the bathroom, put on socks, shoes, grab a bottled iced coffee for the road, grab the work bag, and head out.  

Matt personally enjoyed working with his father, though.  It had been a while since he had been close to his family, and the move to college he had a few years ago had been rather sudden.  It was one of those spur of the moment things, and when he realized how homesick he was, he had ran it by Takashi to move back to his hometown.  

The bus came sooner than he thought, allowing him to pay a small fare to take him down to the college, wandering down the leaf littered sidewalks to the main building where the teachers' offices were.  

The forest, or rather: the oversized grove, where all the activity had been happening wasn't too far off.  It was a short car ride and a brisk walk down to where the trail cams and all the equipment was.  There were barometers, thermometers, things that measured the magnetic field on things, there was a seismic activity monitor in his father's office that was reading from a spot in the middle of the forest.  It went quite a few feet underground, and it was in an area that he checked for burrowing vermin.  So, his readings were fairly accurate, save for the few times that deer bumped into the equipment.  

 

Sam Holt's office was at the far end of the building, with the closest exit to the back parking lot, and closest to the grove as well.  Even the door had a hand painted title on it.   _Dr. Samuel Holt Ph.D. --  Mythos & Anomalies  Studies_.  Knocking on the door before entering, Sam was already packing things into bags.  Things to fix the broken trail cameras and equipment, replacement parts, along with bug spray and other things they'd need while trekking out there.  Pens and paper were always something they needed, as sometimes tablets bugged out.  "Did a bunch of trail cams really get damaged out there?"  

"About four or five of them.  The fifth one by the seismic recorder is going on and off.  Kinda like when you and Pidge messed up the family videos by recording over them."   Sam hadn't changed much from when Matt had saw him last.  Maybe a bit more grey up top, but nothing too dramatic.  His glasses still slid down his nose as Matt remembered, just like Matt's before he got corrective surgery.  "Plus there's a couple other things I need to replace the solar panels on...You know the drill."  

The office itself was actually well kept.  The only clutter that was visible was the papers that needed to be graded, and the things that Sam had been tinkering with.  He had a minor in engineering from something else he had wanted to do, but that fell through.  He aspired to be like his father some day.  Smart, well respected, and mostly debt free.  That'd be the day, wouldn't it?  "Yeah, yeah, I getcha."   Matt started milling around the office, pulling his own notebook off the shelf, along with some things for sketching, and a digital camera they used for work.  Photographing the damage to assess how it happened, and how much it would take to fix it if they had to order new parts.  "This is on a full charge, right?"  

"Should be."   Sam zipped up his bag and slung it over his shoulders, watching as Matt finished up with his own.  "I'll fill you in on what's been going on with the trail cams, though.  I've been catching some interesting stuff, especially since I got back."  It was true, though.  Looking over the footage from the forest had been rather interesting.  There were flashes of light that showed up, flickering orbs, shadow figures...  It was all starting to move towards one part of the forest, though.  Everything in the area where the most activity was going on had been damaged or full out broken. 

"Jeez...maybe they knew I was coming on the job so they got excited."   Matt teased, making his father roll his eyes.  "What?  It's plausible.  Maybe it has to do with the weird aura that's around this place, or the fact that certain people are more attuned to things like this."  

"Now you're getting into the field of ghosts and demonology.  Not quite my field, but maybe you should pick up a few classes on that.  That could actually help."  Explaining what had been going on and everything wasn't too difficult, but it got Matt excited.  Writing everything down in the notebook, he rummaged around for the digital camera, making sure that it was properly calibrated before he did anything else.  

Spray down for bugs, tuck in the pants to socks, hat on, hood up, along with a couple of brightly colored vests to tell any hunters in the area that they weren't deer or bears or whatnot.  (Matt would be a pretty pathetic looking bear, he knew.  And Sam would probably be along the line of a very, very skinny moose.)  Keeping the notebook and camera out while Sam managed his phone and bag of supplies, the two set out for their repair jobs.  

"All the activity's been at night, right?"   Matt asked, looking around for anything out of the ordinary.  Just the normal animal tracks, some bent foliage from hikers, most likely.  Everything seemed just about as normal as it had been when Sam first brought him out the day after Matt and Takashi got moved in.  

"Mmhm.  It's getting more and more active the closer we get to the new moon.  I've seen this correlation before, but this time, it's about ten times bigger than the last few times this has happened."  Sam explained, checking over the equipment along the trail.  "Every time that the new moon rolled around, the gear closer to the center of the forest ended up broken or outright missing and I've never found them."  

"Don't you have tracking chips in the casings?"   Matt frowned, looking back to Sam with a confused frown.  He remembered doing work on those little tracking 'bugs' as he called them.  They took a long time to make, and to know they were gone without a trace was actually a bit of a hit to his pride.

"Mmhm.  I've looked for them all throughout the forest, and I haven't gotten any reading on them.  None whatsoever."  Trudging along again when his check was all finished and all the components that were out of date were replaced, Sam went on to the next one.  "Matt, you wanna take a quick picture of this?"   Sam called, waving the other over.  

On the outside of one of the heavy plastic covers, a large gash had split one of the MEL Meters they had set up.  The little LED bulbs were shattered, like something had gone in and popped them.  Which, for LED lights, was very, very odd.  Sam pulled out a little ruler and lined it up by the crack in the plastic, allowing the other to catch a picture of it, then moved to the front.  "Jeez... There's scorch marks on the front..."   Matt noted, crouching down to get a better look.  The camera's shutter against the forest's ambiance was all that could be heard, along with the slow creeping feeling of dread at the edge of Matt's mind.  "What do you think did this?"  

Sam glanced back at the camera opposite of the MEL meter, jerking a thumb to the lens.  "We should be able to see what happened on here.  The video feed has to be at least good enough to find out what it was."  Replacing the meter wasn't so hard, it was just a matter of calibrating and setting it up again. "There's plastic pieces that need to be picked up...make sure you get those and put them in its own bag, alright?"   

"Roger that, dad."   

With one out of four pieces of equipment fixed, they slowly went deeper and deeper into the woods.  Matt could finally see why Pidge didn't enjoy nature all that much.  There were bugs, brambles that caught on his jeans and socks, along with all sorts of spiders and ticks... Flicking one off his hooded sweatshirt, he actually fell behind a couple times due to him being picky about what was crawling on him.  

"You'll probably have to take another shower after this.  Wash off any ticks that got on you."  Sam hummed, fixing up another bit of tech that had been damaged.  It more so looked like it had been nudged by a deer and the beeping sound it made when it was moved probably startled the poor thing.  After all, deer's eyesight was notoriously bad.  

"Oh yeah, I'm sure."   Matt continuously snapped pictures of the damaged plastic, taking a moment to look around them.  If it weren't for Sam knowing their trail, Matt would have thought they were lost.  "...It feels so quiet out here."   Matt murmured.  The trees were dense, mostly tall cedars and other deciduous  trees that grew in the area.  Nothing he really knew, but he'd eventually learn.  

"Isn't it?  It's strange.  You can't hardly hear a thing out here.  We're not even a mile out from town, either."   Sam hummed, continuing to wander down the trail.  "Watch your step.  Fairy ring to your right." 

Matt looked down to his feet, and sure enough, a ring of mushrooms had sprouted up.  The ring itself wasn't any bigger than what Matt could make with his arms, a little 'O' shape about the size of a manhole cover.  "Jeez..."  Taking a bit of care to step around the arrangement of fungi, he followed along with  curious intent, looking around as more fairy rings started to appear.  If it weren't for him minding his step, Matt would have honestly thought he was sitting in a movie about Hobbits and venturing into the elf kingdom.  He hadn't nearly been this deep before.  

"Last three repairs s are up ahead.  Try to keep a quick pace, alright?"   Sam instructed, waving him along.  He knew there was a potential chance for rain, and nobody wanted to be stuck out in a forest when it was all gross and rainy.  Up ahead, there was an open area void of trees, about twelve feet in diameter.  In the middle of the clearing, there was one lone rock, and not too far off of it was the little seismic reading machine.  All was well with that little machine, but the trail cams and what was left of the instrument that had been quite literally zip tied to the tree, was gone.  "Gah, what a nightmare..."   Sam muttered, looking at the severed ties and shook his head.  "It almost looks like someone just stole it."  Pulling out his phone and looking over the app that Matt had made, he tried to see if it would show up on the radar with a little ping right in front of him, but nothing showed.  "...We'll just have to put something here until I can get a different piece out here... What do you have in there?"  

Opening up his bag, Matt came a bit closer, shrugging as he moved.  "Just a EMF detector, and a voice recorder.  We could probably put those both out here.  Let the recorder run overnight and then check it tomorrow."   He suggested.  

"Hey, good enough."  Sam always made a point to not hurt the trees as much as possible.  If they were potentially dealing with something in the forests, it was better to just not hurt anything, not to bother anything, and make sure that all the trees were in tact and unharmed.  The last thing Sam wanted was something in the woods coming after him and demanding his deeds against the woods be paid for in blood.  Fastening the little machines to the tree once again, he went a bit crazy with the ties, making sure to weave them so that if one was cut, another would hold it up.  Same with the voice recorder.  That thing wasn't going anywhere.  "Check the ground readings, would you?"

"'Course."  He knew he was supposed to be checking for any damaged panels, or if there was anything he could tell his father about.  So far, nothing.  "Nah, everything seems good..."  One thing caught his eye, though.  A little foreign object that was on one of the antennae   Pulling it off, it seemed to be a little rock, almost like obsidian.  Flat like a disc, but it had a hole in the middle.  "I think I may have found one of your sources of interference."  Matt held up the rock with two fingers, looking to Sam.  

He seemed to squint for a moment after turning away from his work, coming closer with a bit of a curious look on his face. Gently, he took the stone from Matt, looking it over.  "Hunh.  You found a holey stone.  I guess that's some good luck, hunh?"  Shrugging a bit, Sam handed it back with a bit of a smile.  "Although I will say that I'm very, very unimpressed.  I've been out here for years and I've never found one."  

"Well, if you want it, you can have it--I mean, there's plenty more around here, right?"   

Sam waved off the other's offer, shaking his head.  "Holey Stones find you.  After all, they're good luck.  Not to mention, if you look through them, you might see something otherworldly."   Looking around the clearing one last time, the elder Holt hummed lightly, looking up to the sky.  Dark clouds were moving in, and soon enough it would probably start pouring.  "Ah, better head back."   

Matt looked up as well, only to get a couple of heavy raindrops in his face, giving an immediate yelp of displeasure as he wiped his face.  "Augh,"  Shaking his head a bit, he tucked the Holey Stone into his pocket, along with the camera into his satchel.  But, before he did that, as Sam started heading back down the trail, he almost felt drawn to stop and snap a picture.  So, without looking at the monitor, he positioned the camera and snapped, turned it off, and trotted after his father.  Making one last glance back to the clearing, that odd dread that had disappeared earlier struck him again.  Soon enough, as the rain picked up, the feeling faded, and more so sunk into Matt being upset about being wet.    

Still, what would eventually come up on the computer later would be worth the while.  

 

... ... ... ...

 

 

"So he made you grade papers?"  Takashi couldn't help but to tease the other about coming home still a bit damp and wearing the college 'spirit gear' with all his other clothes in a plastic bag with the words 'thank you' plastered over it.  One of the oven ready meals was sitting in the oven, making the whole house smell like pre-made lasagna.  A bag of mozzarella cheese and a Parmesan shaker were on standby after the aluminum container came out of the oven.  

"Well, yeah.  That's what I'm supposed to do.  I'm his assistant now, remember?"  Matt huffed, dumping his bag of clothes into the washing machine, going through the pockets of the jeans and hoodies, unceremoniously dumping everything he found on the dryer.  When it came to the sopping wet jeans he wore today, the obsidian stone he found came back to the forefront of his mind.  "Oh hey, I found this, too."   

The moment after Matt closed the door to the washer and started the machine up, he wandered back with the obsidian stone, handing it to Takashi, whom turned it over a couple times in his hands.  "Hunh...You found this today?  You sure you didn't buy it at some sort of gift shop?  It looks like it's too perfect to be just sitting out in the middle of nowhere."   It was smooth on all of its sides.  Like someone had taken a dremel and smoothed out the sides with some polishing grit in a rock tumbler.  

"Does this face really look like the face that would lie to you?"   Matt fluttered his eyelids a bit, trying to put on a cute expression, only getting a soft deadpan from Takashi.

"You said we were going to Disneyland one day, and you drove me to the Circle K with mouse ears instead."  He said flatly, looking at the other with a half smile.  "You also told me we couldn't have a cat because you're allergic.  Colleen said that you weren't."   

"Well, mom ratted me out.  Damn, guess we'll have to get that ragdoll like you wanted."  Matt shrugged, taking back the holey stone and looked through the hollow point.  "But seriously, this thing is apparently good luck. Looking around, nothing seemed different until he looked out to the stairs, where a short human-shaped mass stood and suddenly darted out of the viewfinder.  Matt had attempted to follow it until the timer from the oven startled him, jolting away from the wild goose chase he had about put himself through.  "Oh, Jesus..."  

"You alright?"  Takashi was quick to shut off the timer, quite concerned about how high the other had jumped from the timer going off.  Usually he wasn't like this.  Especially not when he was tired, either.  "You sure you're not coming down with something already?"  

"Yeah, I'm fine...I'm fine.  Maybe I'm just tired."  Matt watched as Takashi attempted to pull of the heavy aluminum lid off the premade dinner with tongs, trying to pull back the crinkled edges.  "...So far it doesn't smell burnt, so that's good."  

"You're telling me.  I tried to make garlic bread too, but that went up in flames."   Finally managing to get it off, the sauce was bubbling and a bit darker at the edges, but overall, it actually came out looking like food.  "Hunh...Maybe it's just a matter of following directions and being attentive."  

"And not forgetting the garlic bread in the oven."  

"That too."  

It ended up being one of those perfectly quiet nights.  where nothing went wrong, a couple glasses of wine later, they were curled up on the couch watching a couple of different B-List horror movies.  Matt inwardly cringed at all the blood, but Takashi...He just pointed out that it'd be entirely possible to save someone with that small of a wound.  'Hollywood bleeds everything'.  He said.  Ending the night with the two hobbling up the stairs to their room, neither of them continued on from what they had going earlier that day.  Sleep was just a bit more important than what had been going on earlier that morning.  

Rain gave quiet ambiance throughout the house as thunder rolled on past the city lines, only giving the mild showers that made the town soggy and full of puddles and fae pools.  Curled up against each other, there wasn't anything that could possibly bring them out of bed.  

 

Or so they thought.


	3. Chapter 3

"Could you tell me again why we're hosting a D&D game here?"  Setting up the table in the living room, there were bags of chips on the counter and cookies in the oven.  Matt had started them for assurance that they'd turn out fine.  After all, they were the cheap slice and bake ones that had little maple leaves on them.  They had to happen the moment Matt saw them in the grocery store.

 

"Because I think you should get into a good team building exercise.  Plus, I got you those dice a while ago, and you said that you might be interested in a campaign."   Matt hummed, pulling out a borrowed red table cloth and draped it over the square shape.  "I've been itching to start up a game with Pidge and the others.  They're pretty into it, too."   

 

Takashi rolled his eyes and sighed, looking at the little piece that Matt had crafted for him.  A little 3-D printed monk--Final Fantasy style.  "So what, am I a bishop or something?"   He asked, picking up the little piece.  The dice that Matt had given him were just plain colors, but they were the rainbow.  (Of course.)  One of each color, as he had picked, varying in sides and numbers.  Takashi didn't quite understand, but, it was something he'd look into for the sake of Matt.

 

"You're a monk."  Matt explained.  "I usually like to stick with the older class that has clerical abilities and striking as a form of fighting.  It fits with your status as nurse, anyways."   Taking the piece from Takashi, Matt looked it over.  "Plus, this little fella looks cute next to my rogue."   He teased.  Matt usually didn't play, but when he did, he had a character he used.  They usually just went first names to keep things simple, and in the end, it used to be quite a bit of fun.  "Not to mention, it'd be a good way to keep you awake when your shift comes up tonight."   

 

"Yeah, roleplaying and dice rolling sounds like a good way to pass time."   Sure, he teased the other about it, but the more he thought about it, maybe it'd be fun.  Like playing a really old video game with pixelated details and an iffy story line.  ...Okay, maybe he was a bit more clueless than he thought.  

 

Matt was about to have the final word when Lance and Hunk showed up, along with Pidge trailing behind.  "You'd better have thought up a good plot, Matt.  Otherwise I'm DM'ming next time."  Pidge called from the back, wandering in with their bag of goodies.  More junk food went on the counter, and a bag of dice on the table, along with Hunk and Lance's stuff.  

 

"From what I remember, Matt's good at this, right?  Right?  Or am I remembering things wrong?"   Hunk teased, nudging the other.  It had been common knowledge that Matt was good at creative writing, and he had actually tried to submit a couple of short stories to a compilation of sci-fi stories, but they had been rejected with a kind note of 'They were good, but not good enough.  We'll use them next time!'.  Even so, it wasn't too much of a loss.  Matt had signed up a year before the release date and when they asked him about the submission he promised, he bullshat it the morning before it was due.  

 

"Yeah, yeah, I've got something good for ya guys."  Matt grinned, making one of those 'cool anime poses' before Takashi snorted at him, making him lose a bit of composure.  "What?  I thought I'd look the part of 'Cool Dungeon Master'.  

 

"When we were younger, you made a pickle guardian.  A damned pickle."  Lance was already in the chips, pulling out a few with one hand and dumped them into the paper bowl Matt had set out for everyone to grab their munchies.  "I don't care if you were fourteen or not, but holy shit--"  

 

"A pickle guardian?"  Takashi echoed.  

 

Matt looked around the room, crossing his arms before sighing heavily.  "He was guarding the cabbage patch where the Cabbage Queen and the Turnip Diamond was."   He said quietly, pursing his lips.  "It was one of my first few campaigns I wrote before I got good at writing."   It was a well thought plot, just...the characterization was a bit off, and he was still learning how to write out the results.  

 

"Still, it stands.  Either you got something good, or I'll be the DM and you'll probably hate me for what I've got written up."   Pidge hummed, getting a bit of a sour look from Lance.  

 

"You honestly write like an edgy teenager.  Last time you DM'd, Hunk's character rotted from the inside out."   Lance huffed, shaking his head slowly.  "That was terrifying. I can almost hear the squelch." 

 

"It didn't help that I had a loaded sandwich that night and I was eating while we were playing.  You honestly didn't have a chance with all those pickles I put on there."   Hunk shrugged.  

 

Pidge was honestly more into horror things anymore, and it showed.  Binging horror movies, looking into paranormal stuff... It was like they were following partially in their father's footsteps.  Just... In a very morbid way that might involve studying demons at an Iowa university.  "That was perfect timing, though.  I thought it was fantastic. Your face made it all worth while, too."  

 

"I was almost gonna vomit, Pidge.  I can't handle stuff like that.  Nu-Uh."   Lance shook his head, tearing into one of the chip bags he had brought.  

 

For a while, it was socializing, and hovering over the cookie pan when Matt brought out the tiny sugar cookies.  Eventually, they got around to the campaign at hand, starting a new one since Takashi was there to start.  Matt had the binder with typed notes in front of him, and the game board set up on the table.  Clearing his throat, he smiled widely.  "Tonight, starts a wonderful adventure.  Four people embark on a quest to find a lost friend, spirited away by the fae.  The four must travel into the realm of the faeries, and defeat the evil prince whom has held him captive."   Matt started, his tone booming and trying to sound epic and brave.  "There may be some lost along the way, and there may be some found in your travels.  The only way to find out is to roll your fate.  It starts at the edge of a forest rumored to be the gateway to the fae world.  A changeling you have befriended has agreed to open the portal, but only because he has a grudge against the evil prince..."  

 

As the story went along, they played along until Takashi had to go to work.  Waving everyone goodbye, Takashi caught a late ride to work with Colleen, who swung by and picked him up.  "Thank you for picking me up, Colleen.  I didn't realize that the bus ran so late."  

 

"It's quite alright, they're running slow since there was a minor crash not too long ago.  Police blocked off the area and they're looking for someone who might have been injured."   She explained, glancing from Takashi, back to the road.  "Hope they find them.  From what they said, they were thrown about five feet and the car was going thirty."   

 

That would probably cause some pretty bad damage, considering that maybe the car had a longer stopping distance.  Hell, it'd probably ragdoll a dog or cat if they had gotten hit.  "Jeez... Anything else I should be looking for?"

 

"Not really--Other than a fistfight that broke out, everything's been quiet."  She replied, pulling into the hospital parking lot with not much more of a word.  "But there is someone in handcuffs.  Sheriff Hartman's keeping vigil."  Must have been the one from the barfight.  "But, they're getting transport ready so that they can take him to the county jail, so he won't be our problem for much longer."  

 

"Well, that's a relief."   The cool autumn air washed over him as he opened the car door, still holding the smell of rain in the air.  Of course, it'd be quickly turned to the smell of sterilized sheets and freshly packaged equipment the moment he stepped into the hospital.  "Guess it'll just be logging and minding the patients tonight, then?"  

 

"That's what I'm hoping for."   Colleen never said it, but she always hoped that nobody she knew ever came into the hospital.  It was wishful thinking, as people got hurt sometimes.  But, if something terrible happened, she'd have to be the one to take care of it. In fact, it was probably everyone's fear at some point.  It took a lot of courage to be a nurse or doctor, especially in the trauma department and urgent care.  She'd seen awful things, and most the time, she wasn't able to really talk about it. Patient privacy, after all.  

 

Clocking in, everything started the same.  Rounds, check ups, vital checks of the patients, convenience cart, and so on.  With the shift starting at nine and ending at five, he'd have a full plate.  Leaving his things in the break room, he wasn't able to leave and check his phone until his break, as specified by the rules.  So, he didn't see the message from Matt that popped up when the others went home, and he had gone out to the forest with Sam due to seismic activity near the clearing.  

 

For personal evidence, Matt had been recording as the rain had just started, water droplets appeared on the corner of the lens, but there was enough visibility that in the beams of their flashlights, they could check and see the trail cams.  So far, nothing was damaged, but there was a rumbling in the earth the closer they got to the clearing.  It was like the ground beneath them was sitting under a bag of popcorn and it was popping like crazy.   

 

"It's getting worse-- What's going on?"   Matt stumbled along after his father, who was quiet until they got to the clearing.  The video footage showed something that nobody had ever seen before.  A bright light, shaped like a crack in cement.  It branched out at the ends, stretching from one side of a large fairy ring to the other.  Both of them could hear faint whispers and radiating warmth from the light, and the smell of ozone and rose.  As fantastic and bizarre as it was, neither of them could do anything.  They only stared in awe.  

 

In a flash, the crack expanded, shining more bright light into their eyes.  Something made Matt drop the camera, the foliage shielding the light off the camera lens just enough to see what happened from there.  As the light disappeared, the Holts were gone.  In their place, there was another foreign body.  Naked, pale, and lanky, the figure looked around, and quickly ran.  In the rain, there was nothing left.  

 

No glimmer of light, no person to retrieve the camera.  That's where their trail went cold.


	4. Chapter 4

With the late night over, and the heating turned down to a comfortable cool, Takashi had gone to bed anticipating that Matt would eventually crawl into bed next to him and warm the sheets just a bit more.  But, as he woke hours later, there was no-one there to cling to.  Maybe he stayed at his parent's house?  It was a lot closer to Sam and Matt's work, so that was a possibility.   Picking up his phone from the night stand, he looked over the notifications.  Social media, social media...five missed calls.  Two from Colleen, and three from an unknown number.  Each one of them left a voicemail.  Starting with the oldest, Takashi could already feel his heart drop into his stomach.  

 

_"Takashi, it's Colleen.  I'm just calling to see if Sam and Matt stopped by.  I know it's late, and you're probably sleeping, but please give me a call when you can.  They haven't come home yet from their late night recon check.  Either way, call me back as soon as possible."_

 

_"Takashi, it's Colleen again.  There's been an accident.   Sam and Matt are missing.  The police are opening up a missing persons report for both of them.  It...it doesn't make any sense.  The police department should be calling you sooner or later for questioning.  I've got your shifts covered tonight, and I...I don't understand.  They would have said something by now."_   She sounded stressed.  She knew better than anyone else that Sam had many ways of getting a message to Colleen.  Be it via the couple of phones he had, or the lone payphone that still stood in the Mount Marche mall.  

 

The third voicemail was from the police department, and the officer on the other end sounded haggard.  

 

_"Hello, this is Sheriff Mitch Iverson calling on behalf of the Mount Marche Police Department in regards to the disappearance of Matthew and Samuel Holt.  I thought I'd ask you to come in for questioning whenever you're available.  Time is of the essence, so if you're able, come in as soon as possible.  My line at the police department is two-oh-six.."_

 

_"This is Sheriff Mitch Iverson calling again on behalf of the Mount Marche Police Department in regards to the disappearance of Matthew and Samuel Holt.  I'm calling you again because we've found personal belongings of the two in the woods near Sam's Office, and I'd like for you to come in and we'll get some questions answered about where Matt was and where you were at the time of his disappearance."_   There was a hard silence, and Mitch sighed heavily into the receiver.   _"I know that you'd be the last person to ever think about hurting either of them, but I still have to question and make sure.  The nature of this predicament...We shouldn't assume it's foul play, but it answers quite a lot of questions."_

 

No.  No no no.  Picking himself up out of bed, he listened to the last voicemail as he tried to haphazardly dress and make his way to the police  station.  But as the fourth message ended, his heart shattered as the formalities spilled out.  

 

_"Takashi, it's Mitch again.  We really need you to come to the station.  I'm on my way over to pick you up.  Please call me back."_   It didn't sound good at all.  Takashi knew that tone of voice well enough.  He himself had used it before.  It was the _'I'm so sorry, so so sorry...'_ tone.  For a moment, he was glued to the floor by the soles of his feet, staring at the phone with his shirt half on-half off.  This couldn't be happening.  No.  No no no...   

 

It was the knocking on the door that brought him back, grabbing a couple things off the dresser before he sped to the front door, swinging the door open, only to see Officer Iverson standing there with his hat off and pressed to his chest.  He looked tired, and there was a deep remorse that showed in his eyes.  "Takashi Shirogane, I have some bad news to deliver."   He paused, watching as Takashi's expression slowly started to crumble.  "We've found Matthew and Samuel."   

 

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 

 

It ended up that they were escorted by police officers to the next town over to where they were holding the cadavers.  He was silent the whole way there.  Coleen and Pidge had already been there, and according to Pidge, Hunk and Lance, were also in mourning.  As the tall buildings passed by and the cup of cooling coffee sat in his hands, he felt vaguely warm.  It was that middle grey where he felt nothing.  No warmth, no cold, no hunger...  It all evaded him.  

 

The questioning was a blur.  He told them what they needed to hear.  He had an alibi, and the others had given their testimonies and alibis.  Everything matched up.  As the officer ended the interrogation session, he had one last question.  "...Would you like to see him?"   

 

He should have said no.  He knew how badly it would tear him up.  But, he nodded and followed along as they led him to the coroner's office.  The air was cold.  All the better to keep dead bodies in, right?  He had been told that the cause of death was drowning, with minor bruising and lacerations around the neck.  From what they saw, Matt had been held by the back of his neck and his head forced into the water.  Samuel, however, had a broken neck and drowned after being thrown in to the pond.  How they got that far away was beyond them.  But, they were looking into the whole situation, trying to track down what had gone wrong that night.  

 

Still, as the sheet draped form was in view, he knew the smaller of the two was Matt.  Peeling back the thin sheet, Takashi nearly collapsed.  He looked so small.  Bruised at the neck, peaceful, though... As if he were sleeping.  His hair was still wet from being cleaned off, and his jaw was a bit loose, lips slightly parted.  He was blue in the mouth, and his eyes were ringed with dark purple.   Takashi almost expected him to take a breath.  He wanted Matt to take a breath and sit upright, saying this was all an elaborate joke.  The more Takashi thought about it, the more his lip trembled and his jaw quivered.  

 

If it weren't for the sutures that ran along the sides of his chest, Takashi would have wished harder that Matt would wake up.  They had done an autopsy.  There was no way he was coming back from that.  This was real.  This was traumatizing. He had seen more than one dead body as it was.  He had seen the countless patients and victims of accidents, mothers who suddenly passed after their children were born... It...It had more of an effect now that he was looking at someone that he knew.  Someone that he _loved_.  In a quick and heaving breath, the tears spilled from his eyes, and the ragged sobbing from his chest filled the air.  His knees buckled and his arms caught the side of the exam table, dropping him to a kneeling position at the side.  He didn't know if he was saying anything tangible or understandable, but his jaw moved and his mouth seemed to work on its own.  

 

Choruses of ' _I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Matt come back, please, this can't be real, please, please, wake up..._ ' passed his lips, choking some words back with sobs and hoarse cries.  It was better to leave him alone for the time being so that he could mourn.  

 

The minutes turned to hours, and eventually, the tears dried up, leaving behind only trails of where they had been, and reddened eyes and nose.  A chair had been added to the set up, Takashi leaning on the side of the table with his head resting on his arms, watching as Matt's mousy brown hair dried.  He had pushed some of it out of the way, knowing that it would eventually be fixed as it was.  The funeral was going to be inevitable.  Sam had a will written up about how he wanted to be cremated, and all his belongings would be left to his family.  Colleen, Matt, and Katie.  Matt would have taken on his father's work, and continued from there.  It'd be damn near impossible to continue it now.  All that information sat with the two Holt men.  Now, it was lost.

 

Elsewhere, the officers on the case were trying to look into the camera footage from the forest clearing, but everything was either distorted or damaged by the rain.  It was impossible.  Up until a certain point, it seemed normal, but then it garbled up and glitched in and out.  Even still, they had no idea who could have done this.  The fingerprints weren't showing up in the system.  They didn't belong to anyone.

 

It wasn't until later that Colleen had gone out to get food for everyone, but nobody would really eat.  Pulled away from the bodies, Takashi looked through his phone.  Photos of himself and Matt, the last few texts that they sent back and forth, and their hopes and plans for Mount Marche.  French fries were growing cold, but he still shoved them into his mouth, trying to distract himself into eating something.  The three at the table were silent.  

 

Shoving his phone back into his pocket, he hadn't expected to drop anything as he did so.  In fact, putting his phone back should have kept it in there.  But, out clattered a little disc of black glass, with a hole in the middle.  The holey rock?  Matt had put it on a red cord, making a slip knot through the middle so that it wouldn't fall off or move around.  Matt had said that it was good luck...right?  What luck. 

 

Either way, he held the holey stone between his fingers and peered through the hole.  Nothing out of the ordinary stood out to him, but either way, it was one of the last shards of Matt that he had left.  Putting the cord necklace around his head and down his neck, Takashi sighed and went on with the dark spot of a day.  

 

... ... ... 

 

Days had passed since the incident, and soon enough, the funeral services went along.  Takashi hadn't been to his own home for days, so when all was said and done, he went home alone.  Everything was as it was when he left.  Dishes in the sink, some of them were molded over.  Remnants of the D&D campaign were left over, including the party notes that Matt had scrawled down for when Takashi played with them again.  He didn't bother to read Matt's short hand.  He couldn't look at anything that reminded him of him.  

 

This made no sense to him.  How could this have happened?  Nobody found any sort of murder weapon, nor was there any sign of struggle on the bodies found--Even they found that the bruising and broken neck was post mortem.  It didn't distract from the fact that they were dead, after all.  Gone from this world and into the next.  With the lack of familiar faces in his own world, his personal bubble shrunk.  First Ryou, then his parents, Matt...  

 

"Might as well drink the feelings away."   He muttered to himself, hobbling to the refrigerator as he undid the black tie and shrugged off his jacket.  Leftover funeral wear.  Kicking off his shoes in the kitchen, he looked around for a moment over the leftovers that were probably rotten and the other things, he found an untouched six pack of beer, and... What was supposed to be their wedding wine.  Forgoing the ale and grabbing the neck of the bottle, he quickly uncorked the green glass bottle and took a hearty gulp.  It was a sweet red table wine that had grown slightly bitter over time, but it was vintage, so that was to be expected.  Floral aftertaste, and with sadness and loss leaving a gaping hole in his chest, it was a perfect fit.  

 

Another glug, and Takashi was pulling off more of his clothes, discarding them across the house.  One more, and his face was flushed red and the world felt like a better place.  The whole bottle was gone, and he moved on to the stash in the freezer.  An old whiskey bottle that was only good for shots, and colds with a bit of honey and lemon.  It went well enough with his previously established buzz that he got the first good sleep he had in days.  

 

With time off for grieving and compensation from his workplace, Takashi had time to be alone.  Mostly drunk, half hung over, and overall not taking care of himself.  He hadn't been this depressed since his parents, he decided.  Even then, he sat at the kitchen counter with a cold ice pack to his forehead, trying to null the pain of his most recent hangover.  The late afternoon light had turned the sky bright blue.  The bright yellow Ginkgo tree was losing its leaves.  So much for that symbolism, too.  Closing his eyes, it was hard to even think about how he'd go on from here.  It had been cardboard pizzas burned at the corners, tv dinners half frozen in the middle, and whatever booze Takashi could get his hands on.   

 

He looked like he hadn't slept in months, and his hair was shaggy and greasy at the roots, five o clock shadow turning into a partial beard from days of neglect.  In all forms and ways, he had officially turned into a grade SS Mess.  

 

Giving up on trying to nurse himself out of the headache and hangover, maybe the better idea was to just get drunk again.  There was a new bottle of Smirnoff chilling in the refrigerator, still in the brown paper bag.  There was still club soda from his last bottle, so he might as well dilute that before he started taking bigger drinks.  He had been halfway to the refrigerator when he heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps upstairs, apprehending him from getting shitfaced all over again.  

 

The footsteps continued, softer this time, as if they were sneaking around.  Someone was in his house.  Picking up the cast iron pan from the stove, he slowly made his way to the stairs to the loft, holding the pan in one hand.  He didn't know why, but he felt compelled to look through the holey stone as he walked.  He couldn't rationalize it, but... as he got to the stairs, he held it to his eye and moved sideways up the stairs.  

 

At first, he panned around where the floor started.  There were remnants of food on the floor, orange peel and apple cores from the basket on the counter.  A shredded package of shrimp chips were empty on the floor as well, the crumbs littered the floor and trailed to the bed.  He nearly shit himself when he suddenly came face to face with a pair of eyes, screaming loudly as he dropped the holey stone and swung.  

 

The being seemed to come out of nowhere.  Screaming along with him, it scuttled out from under the bed and pressed against the wall, defensive.  It quickly scuttled to the corner and crouched down, trying to protect itself. 

 

What he was seeing with his own eyes was a monster.  Blotchy purple and pale skin, dark hair that covered part of his face, pointed ears like an elf, and a long whip-like tail that was tipped with black fur at the end.  It was naked, that was for sure.  And from what Takashi saw, it was male.  Pointing the pan at it, his eyes were wide with disbelief.  Swallowing down his fear, he choked out a question.  "What are you doing here?"  

 

The creature looked at him for a moment, the pointed ears twitching for a moment.  "I didn't know this nest had anyone living in it."  It said, looking Takashi over for a moment.  "It was empty, so I entered."  

 

The door had been locked.  How did this...thing get in?  "What are you?"   His heart was beating a mile a minute, and he wanted to know what was going on.  His life thus so far was a living hell and complicated beyond belief, but now, it just got a bit more stressful.  "This is my ne--er, home."   He huffed out.  

 

"I'm an abomination.  At least, that's what the fae call me."   The being glanced over at a photo on the dresser, then back to Takashi.  "The one with the brown hair--He's in trouble because of me."  Matt?

 

"Yeah?  He's gone.  Dead."   Clenching his jaw, he let out a shaky breath and watched the being shake its head.  "If you're the responsible, give me a reason to not bash you in with this."   He threatened, waving the pan back and forth.  The being seemed to wince a bit, knowing full and well that the iron would still probably hurt him.  

 

"I can explain, but you have to let me speak my truth.  You humans are hostile..."  It gave a shudder and in a moment, the tail was gone, as was the blotchy purple markings across its skin.  Instead, it looked...Human, save for the bright violet eyes he bore.  "One moon phase ago, I came into this world of yours.  The door I had been tasked to open, it...It wasn't supposed to work like it did.  The old man and the other one, they were pulled in and I was spat out."  

 

Still, Takashi was absolutely baffled by this.  He opened his mouth and snapped it shut, lowering his aching arm so that the iron pan clattered to the floor.  Slowly, the being came closer, still low to the floor, eyes focused on the red cord around Takashi's neck.  Up close, the being was lovely.  Delicate features with a surprisingly lithe body, but well rounded in muscle.  This kid looked like he could have been a Bruce Lee double if he wasn't so pale.  

 

"The stone must have found you."  Looking Takashi over, he tilted his head and squinted a bit.  From what he could see, there was a lot of pain, flashes of memories that he could read on the surface.  The lingering smell of alcohol, the sweet yet suffocating smell of lilies from the funeral...  "You haven't buried your partner.  He is still in danger, and I have a lot to explain."   He said softly.  "Your world is in danger."


End file.
